A second transgender candidate running for a seat in the Republican-majority Ohio House is at risk of being disqualified from the ballot after omitting her former name on circulating petitions.
The Mercer County Board of Elections is set to vote Thursday on whether Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize County and one of four transgender individuals campaigning for the Legislature, is eligible to run after not disclosing her previous name, also known as her deadname, on her petition paperwork.
A little-used Ohio elections law, unfamiliar even to many state elections officials, mandates that candidates disclose any name changes in the last five years on their petitions paperwork, with exemptions for name changes due to marriage. But the law isn’t listed in the 33-page candidate requirement guide and there is no space on the petition paperwork to list any former names.
Sounds like another case of “i didn’t read the rules, so it’s not my fault”. Ignorance of the law doesn’t change the law. And it’s not a law “aimed” at trans people. It’s been around far longer than this ‘movement’ has.
As per the excerpt of the article in this post:
So it seems to me that it’s a law that in practice bans running within five years of (non marriage) name changes. Whether it’s unevenly enforced or not it clearly hits trans people disproportionately.
The “Law” is still on the books. It sucks, but again,Ignorance of the Law doesn’t make it not the Law. Now that it’s getting publicity, maybe people can start following the rules.
If the official paperwork makes it impossible to follow the law, how then can these people run for office? If the law is on the books, then the forms should be made to include this option. That it doesn’t is akin to entrapment.
I’m not saying it’s “right”, I’m saying if you want to do it, you have to play by their rules. That’s all there is too it.